The joy on Tommy Fleetwood’s face Sunday in India when he saw his young son running onto the 18th green to congratulate his father on winning the DP World India Championship could warm even the hardest heart.
Beyond Fleetwood’s usual incentives, he kept in mind how much his 8-year-old son Frankie wanted to give his dad a victory hug on the final green and the two got their wish in India.
There is a huggable quality to Fleetwood, who now rivals Rory McIlroy as the game’s most popular golfer. Beyond his obvious talent, it is Fleetwood’s style – from his long hair to his amazing grace – that has given him an undeniable magnetism.
Add in Fleetwood’s recent achievements – winning the FedEx Cup, being the top points earner on Europe’s victorious Ryder Cup team and, most recently, his victory in India – and his profile and popularity have never been higher.
Two months ago, Fleetwood was defined, at least in the United States, by his near-miss disappointments on the PGA Tour. As dramatic as Keegan Bradley’s victory in the Travelers Championship was, the talking point became Fleetwood’s latest disappointment when he couldn’t hold a three-stroke lead with three holes remaining.
He nibbled around the edges in the FedEx Cup playoffs, finishing T3 and T4 in the first two events, before bringing it all together at the Tour Championship at East Lake with a victory that forever changed his narrative.
Now, Fleetwood is fifth in the world ranking and, even with two more starts on the DP World Tour this year, it’s hard not to think about what 2026 could be for him.
“I still have two tournaments to go (in Abu Dhabi and Dubai),” Fleetwood said. “I still have things that I want to complete in those two tournaments that I’ll strive for, and then when eventually we get that done with, we’ll look towards 2026 and see what we can do.
“I did say the two things that disappointed me this year were my major performances (he finished outside the top 15 in all four) and where I stood in the DP World Tour rankings. Those are things that I’ll look at for next year.
“For us all as golfers, those are the events. Those four events a year, those majors, mean so much that we try and prepare for and play our best. I’ll be always trying to make my game be able to suit those.”
“It was interesting, really, because my win at East Lake, I really felt like I didn’t do that much different to the times that I had lost and the times it had gone wrong. I think I learned from each experience, and [Sunday] was going to be another one of those.” – Tommy Fleetwood
Fleetwood introduced himself on the American stage with his play in majors, accumulating seven top-five finishes, including a second-place finish in the 2018 U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills where he shot a final-round 63, leaving him one behind winner Brooks Koepka.
He has been brilliant in the Ryder Cup with an 11-3-2 record, going 4-1 at Bethpage Black last month.
On a relatively short, quirky course in India that took the driver out of many players’ hands, Fleetwood immediately liked how the layout fit his game. Among his strengths is not trying to do more than he should, sticking to what he does the best, and it was critical in getting him over the line in the Tour Championship at East Lake.
“It was interesting, really, because my win at East Lake, I really felt like I didn’t do that much different to the times that I had lost and the times it had gone wrong. I think I learned from each experience, and [Sunday] was going to be another one of those. I might have won, I might not have; I could have done exactly the same things and got beaten,” Fleetwood said.
“I think just being in that position more and more is something that I’m really proud of, and I want to keep doing that. I know form doesn’t last forever, but I’m trying to make myself the most consistent player I can be, and just being in contention again, feeling those nerves and having to play down the stretch with a chance at winning is what we all want to do, and I think I’m really keen to just put myself there.”
Fleetwood sits 25th in the DP World Tour’s Race to Dubai rankings with the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship and the DP World Tour Championship remaining. After those events, he will pause long enough to reflect on his achievements this year and cast his focus toward building on those next year.
“I’m still driven to try and be as good as I can possibly be, and I’ll look forward to getting to work. I’ll look forward to practicing. I still have so much to do in my career, and I know that each day how I think and how I act and how I practice and how I work goes towards those things,” Fleetwood said.
“Whether I achieve all the things that I set out to do or not is a different story. But I enjoy chasing those dreams, and I know that everything I do every day goes towards that.”